Compare And Contrast Great Britain And The British Colonies

The society of Great Britain and the British colonies were very different. When the colonists settled in North America, a whole new society was made. Cultures were blended, and the society of great Britain was made into a whole new world. First off, many types of people were in the colonies all coming from European Nations (most people coming from Great Britain). Many different religions were in the colonies as well. In addition to this the poor and rich found in the colonies weren’t as different, poor people could become wealthy easier through education. In fact, 90% of the people in the colonies were farmers. Also, people in the colonies were more educated than in Europe, and literacy rates were higher. People were also healthier. The colonies

had equal to everyone though. Only white men owning at least 50 acres of land were allowed to vote.
The way the colonists set up their government however, reflected many British ideas in them. Great Britain thought it would be a good way to rule if one person makes all the decisions for the entire nation. This way of ruling has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are being able to make decisions quickly, being able to know exactly who the next ruler is, and there is less corruption.

When there is only one ruler in power, it is only one person’s decision on what path the country takes. When the rulers are only in the royal blood, when one ruler dies, his/her son/daughter takes their place as ruler. With one ruler for a long period of time, there is less room for corruption. Rulers know that their leadership is not for a term period, so they have no lust for money. They have no intentions to misuse authority for corruption. The disadvantages of having one ruler are not being able to go through the impeachment process and having too much power. If there is only one ruler, and they will only be succeeded if they die, then they cannot be impeached. If the leader does become corrupt, they can do whatever they want, without anyone stopping them. These two disadvantages go hand in hand because one leads into the other. The advantages of having a representative democracy are election, impeachment, and protection of the interests of the people. Election is fair because it portrays who the nation wants as their leader, and that is who their leader shall be. Impeachment is another plus because if the president

does something that is not in the people’s wanting of a leader, they can be voted out of office. Protection of the people’s interests is an advantage because the president was elected because he was trusted with how the people wanted the nation to run, and now they are expected to carry out their part by listening to what the people of the country want.

Some disadvantages are the rule of the incompetent, low moral standards, and more emphasis on quantity and not quality. With the elections allowed to be entered by any common person, the ruling of an uneducated person is inevitable. When the elections take place, the presidential candidates will practically do anything to cause their opponents to lose, most being cheap shots like digging up their personal problems from long ago, back when their decisions did not matter for them to win the election. When the elections start, the common people do not focus on the quality of the presidential candidate, and the candidates watch for the quantity of their followers. Early colonial government had several similarities to eighteenth century British government, while they also had many differences. The original British colonies governed themselves under English common law. The American Constitution shared many qualities with the British Magna Carta. Both governments had limits on government power. The colonies had democracy, while Great Britain had a

monarchy. The colonies used democracy because it reflected what the people wanted, and they were trying to move away from the principles of British government. The colonies used a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy. This meant that people voted on representatives rather than voting directly. This prevents uneducated citizens from making a poor decision on who their leaders should be. In the British monarchy, citizens had no say in who became the leader. Power was simply inherited. In the government, there are two important strategies that make the three branches in the government fair. The three branches include legislative, executive, and judicial. The two strategies that make the government the way it is are checks and balances, and separation of powers. The purpose of separation of powers, is so that all three branches have power. It is also so that all the branches don't have the same power. The reason there are checks and balances is so that there is balanced power for all of the branches. The powers are checked because some powers are shared between the branches. Checks and balances is also made so that the government doesn't have unlimited power. The legislative branch’s main power is to make laws, the executive branch’s power is to carry out and enforce laws and the judicial branch’s main power is to manage conflicts about the meaning, application, and enforcement of laws. However, they are all able to decline the other branches decisions so they don’t get too much power.